Creamy Bacon Carbonara

You can easily add chicken to this for a dinner, or leave it as is for a lunch.

2 eggs

1/4 cup Cream or Heavy Cream (Whipping Cream)

1/3 cup Parmesan

Fresh diced Parsley or dried flakes

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp Red Pepper flakes

*(I doubled the Sauce recipe, and it was perfect)

1/2 lb. bacon

1 small onion, chopped (opt)

3 mushrooms sliced (opt)

1/2 lb. Pasta

Beat the eggs, cream, parmesan, parsley, salt and the red pepper together in a bowl. I just used a fork. Fry the bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside. With 1 -2 Tbsp. bacon grease, saute the onion and the mushrooms until the onions are translucent and golden. Drain the pasta and while still warm, add to the onions and mushrooms (I personally do not like mushrooms and leave them out). Pour cream mixture into the pasta, and stir over low heat for one to two minutes. (**I doubled the sauce recipe and I saved a bit of the pasta water, just in case my sauce got thicker than I liked – simply add a bit if you need it) Don’t do this on high heat, or you will make scrambled eggs. Serve with additional parmesan, a loaf of Crusty French bread, and a salad. So Good!

DIY Laundry Detergent

I know this isn't food, but this is my blog where I like to store ANY recipe : )  I've read a lot of DIY recipes for laundry detergent, but this one really caught my eye.

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean (This is optional but I highly recommend adding it)

2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap

2 (2 lb) Boxes of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

1 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener

Grate soap.  In large bucket (5 gallon) layer a bit of each ingredient, stir, repeat.  This was easier than dumping all the ingredients together then trying to stir them all at once.  Fill up the empty Purex bottle for easier dispensing.  Measure to middle line on cap.  Only takes about 1-2 tbs (yes, tablespoons!) for one load.  This bucket should last a year for about 6 loads a week.  You're welcome : )



Mississippi Roast

1 chuck roast
1 pack of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix
1 pack of McCormick Au Jus gravy
1 stick of butter
5 pepperoncini peppers

Place roast in crockpot, cover in ranch dressing mix.  On top of ranch dressing mix, cover with au jus gravy mix.  Place stick of butter on top of roast.  Place peppers on the roast around the stick of butter.  Do NOT add any water.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sweet potatoes olive oil
course salt
1 T. butter, cut into small pieces
1 T. light brown sugar
1/4 c. pecan pieces
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise; slice crosswise 1/2 inch thick. On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil (I like to put mine in a ziploc bag and shake it); season with salt.

Cook until potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, 25-30 minutes.

Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, pecan pieces and cayenne pepper, dividing evenly. Bake until sugar is carmelized and hard, about 10 minutes. Toss gently; serve immediately. Serves 4.

Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy

This isn't a "pretty" dish, but those are usually the one that taste the best!  This could easily be cut in half to serve 2. 

Cube steak (I used a family size pack)
2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
3/4 cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix water, soup, and soup mix until blended.  Pour half in crockpot, add steak, pour other half of soup mix over steaks.  Cook on low 8 hours. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, or with your favorite side dishes.

Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken:

1 large fryer chicken (4-5 lbs.), neck and gizzards removed

1 large onion, peeled and cut in half

3 carrots, cut into large pieces

3 stalks of celery, cut into large pieces

Kosher salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Dumplings:

3 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

4 1/2 tbsp. shortening

1 cup milk

For chicken:

Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer. Cook chicken for 1 hour or until cooked through (about 165 degrees). About 30 minutes after you start cooking the chicken you can start making the dumplings or you can wait until the chicken is fully cooked.

Once chicken is done, remove from the broth and let cool. Remove chicken from the bone (this shouldn’t be hard, it should be falling off pretty easily at this point) and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.

Pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth (I improvised and used a coffee filter), discarding vegetables. Reserve 6 cups of the broth for the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use in for another recipe. 

For dumplings:

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small peas.

Add milk — 1/4 cup at a time, you may not need a full cup — and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over-mix. 

Roll out the dough onto floured surface that you don’t mind cutting on. Roll about ¼ inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. Place strips on wax paper and allow to harden up a bit, about 30 minutes.

In a large pot, over medium-low heat, bring broth to a gentle simmer and drop in dumplings. Cover and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes. 

Reduce heat to low and add chicken. Allow to cook until thickened, approximately 15-20 minutes, or longer. Season generously with salt and pepper.  serve hot.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

1 whole Tyson chicken
1 bottle of favorite BBQ sauce
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 can of Coke

Place chicken in crockpot.  In separate bowl, mix soda and bbq sauce, pour over chicken.  Add onion and lemon to the crockpot.  Bake on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with corn on the cob and potato salad.  Summer dinner in the crockpot. Who knew?